Mutating Identities: Clarice Lispector's um sopro de vida - pulsações and Virginia Woolf's between the acts

The questioning of fictional identities is central in both texts. Their structure illustrates the Bakhtinian notions of heteroglossia and dialogism and one of their main themes is the structuring and restructuring of social and personal history. Together with the use of irony and humour, the parody of social context, the use of intertextuality and metafiction, the exploration of fragment and of discontinuity, the development of self reflection and the interrogation of the author before the condition of his work, the focusing on the presence of a reader lost in the interpretation of the text, this problematisation of fictional identities places these two novels between the acts of modernism and postmodernism.

Biology of Triatominae (Reduviidae Hemiptera) from North of Formosa County (Goiás-Brazil) I. Length of life cycle of Triatoma sordida (Stal. 1859)

In the present paper the life cycle of Triatoma sordida was studied. The mean length from egg to adult was 213 days. The mean length in days from each stage was: 24.3 (± 1.30) for the first. 32.8 (± 1.45) (2nd), 36.1 (± 1.50) (3rd), 44.6 (± 1.85) (4th) and 52.0 (± 1.92) (5th). The mean egg incubation períod was 23.2 (± 1.40). Overall mortality was 18.8% and egg viability was 82.5%.

Biology of Triatominae (Reduviidae, Hemiptera) from north of formosa county (Goiás - Brazil) II. Length of life cycle of Rhodnius Neglectus lent, 1954

In the present paper the life cycle of Rhodnius neglectus was studied. The mean length from egg to adult was 119 days. The mean length in day from each stage was: 17.4 (± 1.15) for first, 18.2 (± 1.28) for second, fourth and 29.8 (± 1.46) for fifth.

Biology of triatominae (Reduviidade, Hemiptera) from north of Formosa county (Goiás - Brazil). III: length of life cycle of Psammolestes tertius Lent and Jurberg 1965

In the present work the life cycle of Psammolestes tertius was studied. The mean length, in days, fromeach stage was: 26.3 (± 1.7) (1st), 28.6 (± 1.8) (2nd), 28.4 (± 1.8) (3rd), 32.2 (± 1.9) (4th) and 33.5 (± 5.8) (5th). The mean egg incubation period was 15.7 days (± 1.7). Overall mortality was 48.9% and egg viability was 65.7%.

Frequency of human leukocyte antigen (hla) in patients with malaria and in the general population of Humaitá county, Amazonas state, Brazil

In August 1983,85 inhabitants of the municipality of Humaitá, Amazonas State, Brazil were studied to determine the prevalence of antigens to HLA-A, -B, -C and DR. Thirty-eight were sick with malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum. All subjects were examined for splenomegaly, blood parasitaemia and antibodies to malaria. They constituted three groups: 1) 25 subjects native to the Amazon region who had never had malaria; 2) 38 Amazonian subjects who had malaria in the past or currently had an infection; 3) 22 patients with malaria who had acquired the infection in the Amazon Region but came from other regions of Brazil. Blood was taken from each person, the lymphocytes were separated and typed by the test of microlymphocytotoxicity. There was a high frequency of antigens that could not be identified in the groups studied which suggests the existence of a homozygote or phenotype not identified in the population. There was a high frequency of the phenotype Ag(W24) (44.7%) in group 2 when compared with group 1 (32%) or group 3 (9%). Also the individuals in group 2 showed an elevated frequency of antigen DR(4)80%) when compared with group 1 (36.6%) or group 3 (16.6%). These observations suggest the possibility of a genetic susceptibility to malaria among Amazonian residents and indicate a necessity for more extensive studies of the frequency of HLA antigens among inhabitants of this endemic malarial zone.

Malaria in humait a county, state of Amazonas, Brazil. XIX - evaluation of clindamycin for the treatment of patients with Plasmodium falciparum infection

A total of 207 patients with malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum were submitted to 5 different treatment schedules with clindamycin from 1981 to 1984: A - 89 patients were treated intravenously and orally, or intramuscularly and orally with 20 mg/kg/day divided into two daily applications for 5 to 7 days; B-40 patients were treated orally with 20 mg/kg/day divided into two daily doses for 5 to 7 days; C-27 patients were treated with 20 mg/kg/day intravenously or orally divided into two daily applications for 3 days; D-16 patients were treated orally and/or intravenously with a single daily dose of 20 to 40 mg/kg/day for 5 to 7 days; E-35 patients were treated orally with 5 mg/kg/day divided into two doses for 5 days. Patients were examined daily during treatment and reexamined on the 7th, 24th, 21st, 28th and 35th day both clinically and parasitologically (blood test). Eighty three (40.1%) had moderate or severe malaria, and 97 (46.8%) had shown resistance to chloroquine or to the combination ofsulfadoxin and pyrimethamine. The proportion of cured patients was higher than 95% among patients submitted to schedules A and B. Side effects were only occasional and of low intensity. Three deaths occurred (1.4%), two of them involving patients whose signs and symptoms were already very severe when treatment was started. Thus, clindamycin proved to be very useful in the treatment of patients with malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum and we recommend schedule A for moderate and severe cases and Bfor initial cases.

Body and transcendence in Virginia Woolf and Clarice Lispector = Corpo e transcendência em Virgínia Woolf e Clarice Lispector

Virginia Woolf and Clarice Lispector belong to quite different historical, political and cultural contexts. Beyond its antecedents and roots in European modernism, Brazilian modernism developed according to peculiar patterns and lines, cultivating, for example, more clearly political, nationalist and regionalist tendencies than happened in the British area. Molly Hite’s essay “Virginia Woolf’s Two Bodies” suggests the existence of two kinds of body represented and perhaps experienced by Virginia Woolf: “one kind was the body for others, the body cast in social roles”, the other, the “visionary body”, a second physical presence, which brings into play new perspectives on the female modernist body and new strategies of political and aesthetic representation. It is this “visionary body”, that, in many moments, intersects with transcendence. These two kinds of body are also present in Clarice Lispector’s work, structured, of course, around other complexities and gradations, explained by a different temporal context, but still touching common seminal questions. In Lispector, it is through the body cast in social roles that you reach the “visionary body” and transcendence. The movement is not a flight, as in Woolf, on the contrary it is a necessity, a condition to get to the essence.

A palavra em The waves (Virginia Woolf) e Água viva (Clarice Lispector)

Dissertação de Mestrado em Estudos Literários Comparados

Aspectos epidemiológicos e distribuição geográfica da esquistossomose e geo-helmintos, no Estado de Sergipe, de acordo com os dados do Programa de Controle da Esquistossomose

INTRODUÇÃO: A esquistossomose é endêmica no Brasil, com elevada prevalência no Estado de Sergipe, apesar da existência do Programa de Controle da Esquistossomose (PCE). MÉTODOS: Foi realizado levantamento de dados do PCE-Sergipe de 2005 a 2008. A partir da matriz bruta formulou-se planilha de dados no software Access e analisou-se frequência e distribuição geográfica das infecções por Schistosoma mansoni e outros enteroparasitos. Estes dados foram exportados para o software Spring 5.0.5 para georreferenciamento e confecção de mapas temáticos de distribuição espacial e temporal por ano de avaliação. RESULTADOS: Foram positivos para S. mansoni 13,6% (14471/106287) de exames nos anos de 2005, 11,2% (16196/145069) em 2006, 11,8% (10220/86824) em 2007 e 10,6% (8329/78859) em 2008. A análise de mapas mostrou elevada prevalência da doença em Sergipe, em particular nos municípios Ilha das Flores, Santa Rosa de Lima, Santa Luzia do Itanhi e São Cristóvão. Além disso, avaliamos a associação entre as frequências dessas doenças parasitárias com indicadores sociais e de desenvolvimento dos diferentes municípios, de acordo com os dados do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) e da Superintendência de Recursos Hídricos (SRH). Observamos que os municípios com prevalência da esquistossomose maior do que 15% têm menor concentração de rede de esgotos (índice de higiene); p = 0,05. Adicionalmente, os municípios com prevalência de infecção por ancilostomídeos maior do que 10% apresentam um menor IDH educacional; p = 0,04. CONCLUSÕES: Ressalta-se a importância de maior controle dos fatores de risco ambientais e educacionais, na tentativa de reduzir prevalências dessas doenças parasitárias.

A retrospective serologic survey of hantavirus infections in the county of Cássia dos Coqueiros, State of São Paulo, Brazil

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, hantavirus infections producing severe diseases have obtained an increased attention from public health authorities from the countries of Eurasia to the Americas. Brazil has reported 1,300 cases of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) from 1993 to 2010, with about 80 of them occurring in the northeast of the State of São Paulo, with 48% fatality rate. Araraquara virus was the causative agent of HCPS in the region. Considering that hantaviruses causing human disease in the Americas were unknown until 1993, we have looked for hantavirus infections in the population of Cássia dos Coqueiros county, northeast of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, before this time. This county has about 2,800 inhabitants and an economy based on agriculture, including cultivation of Brachiaria decumbens grass. The grass seeds are an important rodent attraction, facilitating transmission of hantavirus to man. Four HCPS cases were reported so far in the county. METHODS: In this study, 1,876 sera collected from 1987 to 1990 were tested for IgG to hantavirus by IgG-ELISA, using the N recombinant protein of Araraquara virus as antigen. RESULTS: Positive results were observed in 89 (4.7%) samples, which were all collected in 1987. The positivity among urban inhabitants was 5.3%, compared with 4.3% among those living in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that hantavirus infections occurred in Cássia dos Coqueiros, completely unrecognized, even before hantaviruses were described in the Americas.

Análise da vulnerabilidade sísmica do arco da Rua Augusta

Em Portugal grande parte dos edifícios históricos antigos são constituídos por alvenaria de pedra. Este género de construção é particularmente vulnerável a ações de natureza dinâmica, nomeadamente a ações sísmicas. O estudo da vulnerabilidade sísmica destes edifícios permite estimar os níveis de dano expectáveis, aquando da ocorrência de um sismo e apoiar o desenvolvimento de técnicas de reforço que permitam evitar o colapso dos mesmos. O objetivo principal do presente estudo é avaliar a vulnerabilidade sísmica do arco da rua Augusta em Lisboa, perante um evento sísmico regulamentar, utilizando um programa de cálculo comercial especializado que permite a utilização de análises dinâmicas não lineares. Numa primeira fase procedeu-se à identificação modal do arco, com recurso a ensaios de vibração ambiental. Os resultados destes ensaios de caracterização dinâmica foram utilizados para calibrar o modelo numérico, o qual foi desenvolvido no programa de cálculo Extreme Loading for Structures, baseado no Método dos Elementos Aplicados. O modelo numérico foi utilizado, numa segunda fase, para avaliar a vulnerabilidade sísmica do arco. Uma análise preliminar pushover permitiu obter a curva de capacidade da estrutura, que por sua vez, possibilita a definição os limites de um conjunto de estados de dano considerados relevantes para o arco. Subsequentes análises sísmicas não lineares e a definição de curvas de fragilidade, permitem estimar os níveis de dano prováveis para vários níveis de ação sísmica e concluir sobre a vulnerabilidade sísmica do Arco da Rua Augusta perante um cenário sísmico regulamentar.

The roman theatre of Bracara Augusta

This paper aims to present the main features of the roman theatre of Bracara Augusta identified in 1999. Although it is still under study, a significant set of evidence made it possible to present its characteristics, to value the socioeconomic issues related with its construction and to discuss the aspects related to the development of the NW Iberian Peninsula cities, where traditionally this type of equipment was believed to be absent, and to understand the diffusion of roman public architecture models in peripheral regions within the Western Empire.

A bayesian approach for NDT data fusion: The Saint Torcato Church case study

This paper presents a methodology based on the Bayesian data fusion techniques applied to non-destructive and destructive tests for the structural assessment of historical constructions. The aim of the methodology is to reduce the uncertainties of the parameter estimation. The Young's modulus of granite stones was chosen as an example for the present paper. The methodology considers several levels of uncertainty since the parameters of interest are considered random variables with random moments. A new concept of Trust Factor was introduced to affect the uncertainty related to each test results, translated by their standard deviation, depending on the higher or lower reliability of each test to predict a certain parameter.

Characterization of pesticide consumption in the county of Santarém, Pará, Brazil

Many potentially harmful pesticides for both human health and the environment are used in Brazilian Amazon. However, no scientific datum on pesticide usage is presently available for this region. Consequently, it is difficult to assess which substances arc used and in which quantities. As an important premise for future work on pesticide contamination in the county of Santarém (State of Pará, Brazil), a survey was conducted in order to qualify and quantify the use of some pesticides in this region. This investigation was made between January and March 1997 and August and October 1998 and revealed use of several organophosphates, synthetic pyrethroids and carbamates insecticides. Furthermore, many herbicides and fungicides were listed. These pesticides are used for agriculture, domestic, and sanitary programs. This paper also provides a first estimation of quantities of some insecticides commonly used in agriculture (chlorpyrifos, malathion, metamidophos and methyl-parathion). The annual consumption for these four compounds is estimated at ca. 1 910 kg. Organophosphate insecticide consumption in the county of Santarém seems to be lower than the Brazilian average in terms of «per capita» and «per agricultural area» consumptions. Nevertheless, this county uses toxic substances on sensitive environments such as floodplains (várzeas), making relevant a thorough study on the potential contamination of this environment and its biota.

Survey and dynamic behaviour of the Our Lady of Conception Church, Portugal

The Our Lady of Conception church is located in village of Monforte (Portugal) and is not in use nowadays. The church presents structural damage and, consequently, a study was carried out. The study involved the survey of the damage, dynamic identification tests under ambient vibration and the numerical analysis. The church is constituted by the central nave, the chancel, the sacristy and the corridor to access the pulpit. The masonry walls present different thickness, namely 0.65 m in the chancel, 0.70 m in the sacristy, 0.92 in the central nave and 0.65 m in the corridor. The masonry walls present 8 buttresses with different dimensions. The total longitudinal and transversal dimensions of the church are equal to 21.10 m and 14.26 m, respectively. The survey of the damage showed that, in general, the masonry walls are in good conditions, with exception of the transversal walls of the nave, which present severe cracks. The arches of the vault presents also severe cracks along the central nave. As consequence, the infiltrations have increased the degradation of the vault and paintings. Furthermore, the foundations present settlements in the Southwest direction. The dynamic identification test were carried out under the action of ambient excitation of the wind and using 12 piezoelectric accelerometers of high sensitivity. The dynamic identification tests allowed to estimate the dynamic properties of the church, namely frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios. A FEM numerical model was prepared and calibrated, based on the first four experimental modes estimated in the dynamic identification tests. The average error between the experimental and numerical frequencies of the first four modes is equal to 5%. After calibration of the numerical model, pushover analyses with a load pattern proportional to the mass, in the transversal and longitudinal direction of the church, were performed. The results of the analysis numerical allow to conclude that the most vulnerable direction of the church is in the transversal one and the maximum load factor is equal to 0.35.